Oh f**k, I just lost a whole blog entry. I was halfway through a blog entry and I accidentally pressed a key and lost the whole entry, so I have to start all over again.
I finally moved into my new home yesterday. It's a really big room in a big house. I live with an Indian family who have been so nice and accomodating. They rent out three rooms to the yoga students. One room is occupied by a Taiwanese lady and her daughter. She practices with Saraswati. Later today, an Australian lady will be moving in. My bathroom has a bathtub and the shower works well. I won't have to be taking bucket baths like some places here. I hope to get a dresser and a table later this week. Like most places here, the furnishings are minimal. My bed is a single bed which I find strange because the room is so big. I noticed that most yoga students here sleep on the floor. In LA, I sleep in a futon cushion on the floor. I don't have a bedframe. I find it ironic that I'm actually sleeping on a bed her and that the people around me are sleeping on the floor. The houses here are all made of concrete and the floors are quite hard. The cushions here are very thin so I don't know how comfortable the floor will be. I may try it out one day.
After settling in, I had to go to Devarajs Road to find myself some towels. This road is like the garment district or downtown of Mysore. It's about a 28 ruppee rickshaw ride from Gokulam. It's not the most pleasant place to be in but it's bearable. I checked out the different shops to get a feel of what things I could get here. I eventually found a store that sells towel and got 2 bath towels and 3 yoga towels. I didn't bring towels from LA because I thought they were too bulky. In retrospect, I actually had the space to bring them. Anyway, I paid over 500 ruppees for all the towels(about $13). They were not very good quality towels so I could leave them here when I leave. I hope they last 4 months.
Today's practice was much better than the last practice. I think I've gotten over the jetlag but lost a lot of my stamina. I'm happy to get back on track though. There were two classes today, a led primary at 5 and a led intermediate after. The led primary was still full and there were about 20 or more in the led intermediate. I could see that there were a lot of heavy hitters in the advance class. I know that Rolf was there and some other advance teachers I didn't know. They said Annie Pace was there but I didn't know which she was and a guy named Olaf. Sharath stopped me at Mari B today, which is a slight improvement from the last class. He help me bind at Mari A which felt good. I'm getting more assistance here than most students. The advantage of being a beginner:) I'm not complaining.
One of the students told me yesterday that the shala maybe closed in December because Sharath was going to be in Goa. I asked Sharath this morning if this was true. He told me that the shala will be open and that Saraswati will be teaching. The thought of going to Goa was getting me excited. I've heard a lot of good thinkg about Goa. I may still go to Goa but I have to figure out what it would cost and see how things go here. I don't have to decide now.
I'm enjoying the company of my fellow yoga students. I feel normal here because most of us are unemployed and just happy to be doing yoga full time. In LA and the Philippines, I felt so out of place. I don't feel so crazy. In fact a lot of people here are crazier than me. I can honestly say that there is no other place I would rather be in at this very moment. I love Mysore:)
Comments (6)
Very cool to hear you are there and settled! My family and I are heading to Sharath's workshop in Goa in Dec and then to Mysore til mid Feb...so I am excited to hear that the shala will be open when we get to Mysore! Have a wonderful time and look forward to meeting you in Dec!
I have a qick question for you.....re house hunting....we have 10 days booked at the Green Hotel right now for when we arrive....but do you think we would be able to sort out something more quickly than that based on your experience? This would be a family of 4....
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Stephanie
Posted by SMN | September 26, 2004 11:09 PM
Posted on September 26, 2004 23:09
Looking forward to meeting you. Ten days is too long to be in the Green Hotel. You don't want to stay in the Green Hotel too long for many reasons. One it's too expensive and second it's a 20 to 30 ruppee rickshaw ride one way. Most of the houses and apartments is walking distance to the shala. The Green Hotel is a 30 minute walk. The sooner you settle down the better. I highly recommend Shiva. He can get you settled within a day or two max. I don't have his number with me right now but I'll give it to you next time. I can also talk to Shiva a few weeks before you arrive so you he has a heads up. You can also call him while your in Goa.
Vivian my flatmate has a 2 year daughter with her and sends her to a school close by. The same school Sharath's daughter goes to. Her daughter really enjoys it and even speaks a little Kanada now. You might want to do that so you'll have a little time for yourselves. I'm sure Sharath or Saraswati could recommend a good school.
Posted by joey | September 27, 2004 9:30 AM
Posted on September 27, 2004 09:30
Joey....thank you so much for responding so quickly. I am also looking forward to meeting you. I am happy to find out that there is a pre-school nearby! That is terrific. I am sure my two would love it... Thank you for your help. I am feeling much calmer about this whole trip already! Whenever you have the chance to pass along Shiva's number is great....I changed our booking at the GH to 6 nights for now, probably still too long, but my husband is a bit weary about all this so I think a little buffer is good!
It is wonderful reading about your experiences so far. It sounds just amazing. I cannot wait!
Do let me know if you think you might head to Goa for Sharath's workshop. We will be staying at the Hotel at the Purple Valley drop in school for the duration of our stay there....arriving on the 3rd of Dec.
Namaste,
Stephanie
Posted by smn | September 27, 2004 11:09 PM
Posted on September 27, 2004 23:09
Don't worry, Gokulam is a very western friendly place. Now that I think about it, December might be a busy time to go to the shala so 6 days might just be right. If you find one sooner, I think the GH will let you check out earlier anyway and not charge you. It's better to be conservative. Shiva's number is 9844226082.
I just checked out the Goa workshop. It's 650 pounds for 2 weeks. I pay about 350 US dollars for one month here and I get Guruji, Sharath and Saraswati. I think it's too much for my blood. I don't think I'll be going to Goa but I could always change my mind. For now I think I'll stay here.
See you soon.
Posted by joey | September 29, 2004 5:09 AM
Posted on September 29, 2004 05:09
I know what you mean about the $$$$$ for Goa. This is the "holiday" part of our trip...okay, the whole trip is a holiday, but we were keen to check out Goa anyway, and at the time I enrolled I was not sure if the main shala was going to open or not since Sharath was not going to be there.....because of jobs etc it made sense for us to travel between Dec and Feb so I guess we decided to live it up!!!
Thank you for getting me Shiva's number. I will make contact as soon as we arrive in India. It is all very exciting....and reading you posts is making it seem even more real.
Is it what you expected? I am not sure what I expect really. My teachers have been giving me little tid-bits of info and insight on a daily basis as we head into the last few months before leaving. One of the things they suggested was practing at about 40-50% of normal while in Mysore because of the intensity of the practice there, the energy, the adjustments, Guruji, etc. What do you think about that? Are you feeling grounded...or a bit light on your feet? I am most comfortable in a semi-scattered space versus really rooted, but I easily become very scattered....so I think they have been advising me to try not to totally loose touch.... especially given that I will have my family there.
Look forward to meeting you as well!
Cheers,
Stephanie
Posted by smn | September 30, 2004 1:11 AM
Posted on September 30, 2004 01:11
Hi, I have been searching for information on Sharaths workshop in Goa and stumbled upon your discussion - which has been so informative btw, thank you. But I was hoping you may be able to tell me of a site that will have all the particulars of the workshop such as the actual location, time he will be there, rates for weekly attendance if that is even possible, etc. I am planning to go there and then to Mysore for 2-3 weeks as well and wonder if i may use Shiva's number to help me find accomodations in mysore.
namaste,
Lisa
Posted by Lisa | August 28, 2006 4:47 PM
Posted on August 28, 2006 16:47